Corruptelae Insectum
The Corruptelae Insectum are a race in the Triarian Collective. For the most part, they are not sentient and obey a hive mind, which the Triarii control through Psionics. Their Queens are fully sentient and their Empress, the dominant Queen, actually struck deals with the Collective. Each Corruptelae Insectum World inside the Collective has a single Queen, who acts as a Governor for the Triarian Collective. In return for their co-operation, the Corruptelae Insectum receive protection, access to the Triarian space ways (and thus access to Colonise new worlds and spread). There is a maximum quota set by the Triarian Collective in order to keep this population in check. Biology The Corruptelae Insectum is essentially a massive insect with 6 legs and two arms. It has sharp claws and pincers which are venomous, and is very deadly in close combat. They are capable of reproduction, via eggs in an insect like caste structure. These larger eggs can be placed by the Queen, but members of a certain caste of the Insectum society are also able to place small eggs within any female of sufficient mass to support it. They are required to use females as the egg is implanted into the womb, where it quickly forms and is supplied by the females body as though the parasitic insect is actually her child. The new born is ready extremely quickly, just three hours, and will claw it's way out of the infected female, usually killing her in the process. They are not sentient, their intelligence being limited to a few basic functions as they obey a hive mind usually controlled by the Queens. They know only to kill, reproduce and follow directives Corruptelae Insectum Auctum The Corruptelae Insectum Auctum are unique among Synths in that they are still capable of their egg like reproduction. After implanting their eggs into a female, the system that breeds them is still very similar to the original, only the creature will be ready to hatch within just fifteen minutes and will be a fully augmented version due to their gene alterations. Again, the new born will 'hatch' at the discretion of the hive mind, which is emulated by a Triarian in most instances. A common fear tactic in covert infestations, particularly with non-space faring races. is to implant an already pregnant female while she is sleeping, as the new born will either starve the baby to death by stealing the nutrients or actually eat the new born. Exceptions to this are extremely rare. After the female is expected to go into labour and taken to a hospital or other such establishment, the Triarii will order the Synth to hatch, causing chaos and spreading terror. Their claws are even sharper and their chitin thicker. They are even more agile and thus even more deadly. Their reflexes are improved and they are turned into an even more deadly alien. The Triarian Equitem sometimes release a small group of their augmented form into the underground of an empires planet. Because of their fast reproduction rate, they will have infested the planet within a short time, the Triarian Equitem then comes in and uses the megarachnids to capture the planet. To keep this population in check, any excess of these 'Megarachnids' are often culled by the Triarian Collective once their usefulness has expired. The Auctum are drawn from Warriors of the Caste Forms Worker The Corruptelae Insectum Worker is the most basic caste of the Corruptelae Insectum and as such, it is almost certainly the most numerous caste in existence. They are fast, reasonably tough, and savage combatants. They are also responsible for digging and constructing the hives of the Corruptelae Insectum. All Workers are non-gendered Drone The Drone is a specialised caste of the Corruptelae Insectum, it's only purpose being to breed. They are cannibalized by the Queen after they have mated with her. Mating usually occurs with up to ten drones at a time, after which the Queen will store the sperm and use it to produce fertilized eggs, which become worker. Unfertilized eggs will become a Drone. Obviously all Drones are males, and to prevent inbreeding Drones are traded between Hive Worlds Queen The Queen is a specialised caste of the Corruptelae Insectum. Queens act as the rulers of a Hive. As the name suggests, all Queens are female. The overall ruler of the Corruptelae Insectum race is the Empress Praetorian The Praetorian is a specialised caste of the Corruptelae Insectum. They act as body guards of the Queen and serve to defend her from harm. They also serve to defend the inner hive from aggressors. Praetorians are exclusively male